Inception: Christopher Nolan has built a career out of successfully making left-of-center, big-budget movies, and Inception is no exception. The flick seems convoluted, but that's just what you'd expect from a film that seems to cast Leonardo DiCaprio as some sort of modern daydream thief with an all-star cast that includes Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard, and Michael Caine.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice: Things are looking grim for Disney with this picture. Just one day after opening, the company started handing out two-for-one tickets to this family adventure starring Nicolas Cage (complete with a long shag). The film follows a modern-day sorcerer and his new recruit. Guess the title pretty much gave that part away.

Music

100 Miles From Memphis by Sheryl Crow: Jennifer Aniston's BFF tries her hand at soul for her seventh album. Mixed reviews are coming in for the 12-track set, which features covers and duets with Justin Timberlake and Keith Richards.

Mysterious by LZ Love: This sassy R&B singer, who once sang backup for Sylvester, returns to form with her third solo album. With a soulful voice reminiscent of Chaka Khan, Love lays down funky beats and an attitude befitting the best independent women. Songs like the groovy "New Life" encourage dance-floor antics, while "Spirit World" is an earthly delight.

The Fool by Cassidy Haley and the Sunshine Rebels: Rock vocals mixed with bluesy guitar strings make for a great combination in the band's second album. Upbeat songs like "Spindle" are catchy, while slower ballads like "Daylight Breaks" show the band's amazing range. Cassidy makes a heartfelt rendition of "Moon River" that even Audrey herself would admire.

Promises, Promises [Cast Recording]: In this much heralded revival of the 1968 Broadway adaptation of Billy Wilder's The Apartment, Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth are in fine vocal form, singing beloved Bacharach-David standards such "A House Is Not a Home," "I'll Never Fall in Love Again," and the title track.

DVDs

Prodigal Sons: This remarkable documentary, full of unexpected plot twists, finds former high school quarterback-turned-transgender woman Kimberly Reed returning home to Montana not only for her high school reunion but to hopefully reunite with her estranged brother.

The Runaways: Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart both give strong performances in the true story behind the seminal ‘70s glam-punk band headed by Joan Jett and Cherie Curie that was guided to short-lived stardom by an eccentric manager-promoter. An audio commentary features Fanning and an often-inarticulate Stewart discussing the film, while Jett waxes about the real-life events that inspired it.

Books

An Honorable German by Charles McCain: Gay author McCain takes an excitingly original yet seemingly authentic look at a tale of war, love, and the sea that's set during World War II and told from the perspective of an anti-Nazi German U-Boat commander. (Grand Central Publishing, $24.99)

Object of Desire by William Mann: Twenty years ago Danny was the hottest go-go boy in West Hollywood. Now 41-years-old and settled into a relatively docile life in Palm Springs with his husband, Danny becomes restless and reflective upon meeting a young, sexy bartender who may hold clues to the disappearance of his sister decades earlier. With trademark grace and humor and warmth, the prolific Mann vividly navigates readers through the three milestone eras in one man’s life. (Kensington, $16)

TV

RuPaul’s Drag U: RuPaul and her merry band of drag queens are back on Logo to help an unlikely new demographic: biological women. Each week three women looking to reconnect with their feminine sides enroll in Drag U, over which RuPaul presides as headmaster. After an initial sizing up by The Dragulator, the professors (Morgan McMichaels, Ongina, Nina Flowers, and others) help the contestants meet their own fabulous drag potential. All will “draguate” at the end of the show, but only the girl with the highest DPA — drag point average — will leave as the Drag U valedictorian. Whether you’re a hardcore tomboy or a femme fatale, this show is bound to put an extra sashay in your step and leave you a little more in touch with your inner diva. Everybody say "love."